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Health

Campaign to Protect Medicaid Continues

Thursday, May 15th, 2025

AlohaCare News Release

Molokai Medicaid beneficiaries can help support the healthcare program by sharing stories of the importance of Medicaid with lawmakers.
During Medicaid Awareness Month, AlohaCare highlights the crucial role of Medicaid to Hawaii’s residents. Known as QUEST locally, the federal and state funded program provides health insurance for over 400,000 of our neighbors, friends, and family. As a nonprofit health plan, AlohaCare will raise awareness, show appreciation and continue to advocate on behalf of Medicaid beneficiaries. AlohaCare invites the public to join the celebration by thanking their healthcare provider and sharing a positive story of how Medicaid may have helped an individual or family through their health journey.…

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Students Receive No Cost Dental Services

Thursday, April 17th, 2025

Students Receive No Cost Dental Services

University of Hawaii News Release
For the first time, the Hawaii Keiki: Healthy and Ready to Learn Program offered free dental services to Molokai students.
On April 8, a team of nine Oahu and Maui-based dentists, dental hygienists, assistants and nurses traveled to Maunaloa Elementary, Kilohana Elementary, Kaunakakai Elementary and Kualapuʻu School to host dental sealant events. Three Molokai-based Hawaii Keiki health technicians provided additional on-the-ground support.
About 110 Molokai students were seen, receiving dental screenings, oral health education, hygiene kits and, where needed, dental sealants—a protective treatment that helps prevent cavities.
“This is the first time Hawaii Keiki has come to do dental sealants and we’re looking forward to next year,” said Kualapu’u School Principal Lydia Trinidad.…

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Training Homegrown Healthcare Professionals

Thursday, January 9th, 2025

Training Homegrown Healthcare Professionals

When Olelo Schonely Spencer at UH Maui College Molokai launched a Clinical Medical Assistant (CMA) certification cohort program last year, she thought a couple of people might sign up.
“We didn’t really think we’d have nine right out of the gate,” said Schonely Spencer, who works as the college’s Career and Technical Education program coordinator. “[We thought] oh, just a couple, you know, just to kind of see if this is going to work. And it kind of exceeded all of our expectations.”
Those nine residents just received their certifications for free, made possible through a partnership with Good Jobs Hawaii.…

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Health Insurance Open Enrollment

Thursday, November 21st, 2024

Hawaii Dept. of Commerce and Consumer Affairs News Release

The state of Hawaii Dept. of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Insurance Division is encouraging residents who do not have health insurance coverage through their employer to visit HealthCare.gov to compare plans. Open enrollment via the Health Insurance Marketplace lasts through Jan. 15, 2025. Consumers who enroll by Dec. 15, 2024, can secure coverage that starts January 1, 2025.

People who already have a Health Insurance Marketplace individual plan can update or upgrade their health plans during this period. Over 20,000 Hawaii residents purchased plans through the Health Insurance Marketplace in 2024, and more than 17,000 received subsidies.…

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Brain Train

Thursday, November 14th, 2024

Brain Train

Community Contributed 

By Mercy Ritte

In an effort to expand Alzheimer’s and dementia research in native communities, Justina Tavana and her team of researchers from Brigham Young University’s Natives Engaged in Alzheimer’s Research program brought the Brain Train study to Molokai on Nov. 1 and 2. Funded by the National Institute on Aging, this initiative aims to develop culturally tailored research and treatments for Alzheimer’s and dementia specifically for American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander populations. The event on Molokai offered local residents an opportunity to learn about Alzheimerʻs and dementia research and to participate in a brain health screening. This milestone event highlighted the importance of this research, especially in underserved communities, and the need for awareness, early detection, and culture specific interventions for prevention and care.…

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Can Insurance Providers Help Improve Flight Service?

Wednesday, September 20th, 2023

Can Insurance Providers Help Improve Flight Service?

By Jack Kiyonaga, Editor 

AlohaCare health insurance services 2,445 Molokai residents. Now, the insurance provider is looking at fixing a critical step in serving Molokai residents: getting to the appointment. 

Lacking most types of medical specialists on-island, Molokai residents often must fly off-island for critical appointments. This past spring was a well-documented nightmare as Molokai patients routinely missed appointments due to unexpected flight delays and cancellations. These concerns led to AlohaCare sitting down with Mokulele Airlines and government legislators to talk about solutions. 

Meetings with State Sen. Lynn Decoite and Rep. Mahina Poepoe resulted in a commitment to collaborate across companies, explained AlohaCare VP of External Affairs Paula Arcena. …

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Mental Health Resources

Wednesday, August 16th, 2023

Community Contributed

By Anisa Wiseman 

Molokai, a close-knit community nestled amidst natural beauty, faces its share of mental health challenges. Many residents may be unaware of the valuable resource available to them: the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI Hawaii). As an organization dedicated to providing support, education, and advocacy for individuals and families impacted by mental health conditions, NAMI Hawaii offers a range of online programs tailored to meet the unique needs of Molokai residents. 

NAMI Hawaii offers online programs designed to empower individuals and families with the knowledge, skills, and support necessary to navigate the challenges associated with mental health conditions.…

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Molokai First Aid Class

Wednesday, August 2nd, 2023

Maui County Red Cross News Release

A handful of Molokai residents and Red Cross volunteers got certified or recertified to practice adult and child CPR and first aid during a class held last Thursday. The class was taught on Molokai by Gordon Gillis of Maui, owner of Safety Services Hawaii, a company that provides community and workplace health training and consulting. 

Participants of the classes became certified in the most recent Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) techniques as well as how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED), basic emergency first aid, and Naloxone administration. The certification is good for two years, and four Red Cross Molokai volunteers became recertified.…

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Can Molokai’s Medical Future be Home Grown?

Wednesday, July 19th, 2023

Can Molokai’s Medical Future be Home Grown?

By Jack Kiyonaga, Reporter

Most are familiar with the dire healthcare landscape on Molokai. With the passing of doctors Emmett Aluli and William Thomas in the past year, many Molokai residents were left without permanent primary care physicians. Help has come in the form of interim doctors flown over for relatively short periods. More long-term solutions have manifested in the recently opened Molokai Urgent and Family Care Clinic, operated by Dr. Ka‘ohimanu Dang Akiona with Aluli’s former staff. But the root of the problem remains unsolved: how to have more full-time, community-engaged doctors on Molokai. 

Pono Castanera wants to be one piece of solving that puzzle. …

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Study Proves Benefits of Paddling

Wednesday, July 5th, 2023

By Jack Kiyonaga, Reporter

A three-year study conducted by the University of Hawaii has determined what many in Hawaii already know — outrigger canoe paddling is both popular and beneficial to the health of the Native Hawaiian community. 

The study was conducted by the UH Office of Public Health Studies and surveyed over 13,500 Hawaiian residents. The results revealed that while 20 percent of Hawaii residents have paddled, over 40 percent of Native Hawaiians have participated in outrigger canoe paddling. 

Paddling, and other culturally relevant physical activities like hula, can offer insight into “chronic disease prevention and management” in the Native Hawaiian population, according to the study.  …

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